This month, our crack team of barbecue lovers has been traveling Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington in search of mesquite-belching barrel smokers, blackened smoke cabinets, split wood and other signs of proximate slow-smoked brisket, ribs, pulled pork and sausage.

What started as an adventure now feels more like a crusade. We've begun to imagine our cell phones, steering wheels and doorknobs are coated in imperceptible films of sweet, tangy barbecue sauce. We've already scoured six counties in search of outstanding barbecue, then returned to Portland and found it at a food cart.

But before our top ten list goes live on Independence Day, we want to make sure we're not missing some bleary-eyed pitmaster, someone who wakes up before the dawn to light his mesquite coals, but doesn't have time to advertise on Yelp.

There are still a few days left until we finalize our list. Drop us a comment and tell us which off-the-radar spot we shouldn't miss.